


All My Friends Are Trees

by alltheglowingeyes



Series: PJO/HoO/ToA One Shots [6]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Bullying, Friendship, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, dryads are in the will solace protection squad, the title is stupid lmao sry, will and cecil are bffs, will is friends with everyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25721554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alltheglowingeyes/pseuds/alltheglowingeyes
Summary: “Get lost now, punk. I think we need to have a little chat with Solace here,” said Ron, as his cronies nodded.Cecil could feel Will’s gaze on him and practically hear his silent plea of Please don’t leave me alone with them. The son of Hermes pretended to ignore him, standing up and making a big show of stretching.Then, without warning, he punched the nearest Ares kid in the face.OR my take on how Cecil and Will became friends.
Relationships: Cecil Markowitz & Will Solace
Series: PJO/HoO/ToA One Shots [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861492
Comments: 6
Kudos: 115





	All My Friends Are Trees

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pretty happy with how this story turned out. The only thing is that I did make all the bullies Ares kids, which I know is really cliche. Honestly, I was going to change it up somehow but I got lazy lol.
> 
> Anyways, this is just how I think Cecil and Will might have met. I like that we don't know much about either character, so the fandom has some creative liberties.
> 
> Both Will and Cecil are roughly 10-11 in this.
> 
> Enjoy! :)
> 
> \- alltheglowingeyes

It was only his fourth day at Camp, and Cecil wanted to go home.

Cecil kicked a rock as he wandered aimlessly through Camp. He missed his mom and his old friends, the crappy apartment he lived in. Hell, he even missed school.

Camp Half-Blood was too much for him to handle. He wanted his old, simpler life back. He didn’t care that his absentee father was some old-timey god he never heard of (Like  _ Hermes _ ? What does that even mean?). He didn’t want to share a crowded cabin with his supposed siblings and a bunch of other random kids who weren’t claimed yet. 

He scowled, taking a seat at the base of a tree. He just wanted to go back to New Jersey, to the life he knew. People at Camp were just so…  _ intense _ . Everyone had some special skill, and Cecil, deep down, felt completely out of place. The Athena kids were super smart, the Demeter kids could make anything grow anywhere, the Ares kids picked and won nearly every fight, even his siblings had their own special talents. Cecil’s only “talent” was screwing things up. He didn’t fit in with all the other demigods, and the realization made each minute at Camp more overwhelming.

He was rustled out of his spiral into despair by someone clearing their throat. In front of him stood a boy who seemed to be around his age. He had golden curls that reflected the sunlight falling on him, sky blue eyes, and a deep tan that accentuated the myriad of freckles across his face and arms. He wore a bright orange Camp shirt, light blue jean shorts, and neon yellow crocs, which all seemed to match with the warmth that radiated off of him.

The boy smiled, “Hi! Can I sit with you?”

Cecil frowned, a little put off by the guy’s freakishly friendly demeanor. Still, he wasn’t a complete jerk, so he nodded curtly, allowing the boy to sit with him.

The boy beamed, plopping himself right next to the son of Hermes. Cecil had hoped he would just stop talking right then and there, but he instead tried to start some conversation.

“So, what’s your name?” asked the boy, and Cecil noted he had a rather strong Southern accent.

“Cecil,” he replied briefly.

The boy nodded enthusiastically, “Cool name! I’m Will! Have you been claimed yet? My dad is Apollo, although it’s probably pretty obvious because apparently I glow and I look like him. Well, I guess you wouldn’t know what Apollo looks like. I mean, I don’t really know either.”

Cecil nodded awkwardly. The guys actually seemed nice, but Cecil didn’t have much to say, “I’m a son of Hermes, apparently.”

Will grinned, “Awesome! I have lots of friends in that cabin. Well actually, only three, but it still counts. Luke is really nice, you know Luke? He is your head counselor. The Stoll brothers are also pretty nice to me, mostly because we have a deal that I patch them up if a prank goes wrong as long as they lay off me with their pranks. Except on April Fools Day. That day is complete chaos at Camp.”

Before Cecil could say anything, a gruff voice spoke up, “No one cares, cowboy.”

Cecil turned his attention to the owner of the voice, but not before catching sight of how Will seemed to freeze up, his carefree smile dropping off his face. In front of Cecil stood three demigods. They were all tall and sort of muscular, leering over the two younger demigods menacingly. All of them had cruel looks on their faces that Cecil had learned in his minimal time at Camp signified relations to Ares.

The boy who had interrupted Will and Cecil’s conversation turned his attention to Cecil, his beady eyes studying the son of Hermes. 

“I’m Ron, and I’m going to give you some advice, new guy. Don’t bother with this kid. Apollo kids are pretty obnoxious as is, but at least his siblings can actually fight. This punk can’t sing or shoot an arrow for the life of him. No, all he’s got is healing,” the Ares kid turned his attention back to Will. “Even with your pansy healing powers, you can’t save people. How’s it feel having our fellow campers blood on your hands, huh? My sister’s?” he sneered.

Cecil glanced at Will. He wasn’t making eye contact with anyone, his gaze locked on the ground as he scratched furiously at his arm. 

Honestly, Cecil didn’t know the kid well enough to figure out whether this whole death on his shoulders thing was true. But from his minimal interaction with the son of Apollo, he seemed nice enough, like he really was a good kid. In other words, he didn’t like the way these kids were talking to Will.

The boys, who had been jeering at the son of Apollo still, turned back to Cecil.

“Get lost now, punk. I think we need to have a little chat with Solace here,” said Ron, as his cronies nodded.

Cecil could feel Will’s gaze on him and practically hear his silent plea of  _ Please don’t leave me alone with them _ . The son of Hermes pretended to ignore him, standing up and making a big show of stretching.

Then, without warning, he punched the nearest Ares kid in the face.

Cecil felt his knuckles scream in protest ( _ Jesus, Ares kids have hard heads _ ), and for a moment he stood there, taking in what he just did. Ron had backed up, a stream of curses escaping his lips as he clutched his nose. His brothers seemed confused on what to do, glancing at their brother, and for a moment it was peaceful.

Then Cecil felt a hand clasp onto his arm. Will had stood up, his eyes wide as he shouted “RUN!”

The two boys took off running, the Ares kids not far behind, having recovered from the shock of a scrawny, newly-claimed son of Hermes landing a punch on the group’s head. Cecil's mind was racing as they ran, trying to figure out his chances of survival. Will was fast, and so was he, but the Ares kids were already starting to gain on them. They wouldn’t make it back to the cabins in time to hide or receive protection from older counselors. Cecil bit back a groan. He was barely at Camp for a week, and he was as good as dead.

The Ares kids picked up speed, right on their tails. However, Cecil realized as he focused on their surroundings, Will wasn’t leading him to the cabins. The son of Apollo was dragging him to the woods. 

Cecil’s eyes widened, “Dude, are you crazy? There are monsters in there! And the dryad ladies will kill us with their tentacle branches!”

Will scowled, shooting him a very non-Apollo look, “Trust me, the woods are our best bet if we don’t want to be in the infirmary for the next month or so.”

Well, Cecil couldn’t argue with logic like that.

The two demigods entered the woods, and Cecil stayed close Will as the son of Apollo expertly navigated through the trees. It seemed to slow down the Ares kids, putting a good distance between them, but it wasn’t going to be enough. Suddenly, Will stopped running, causing Cecil to almost bowl him down. They were in a clearing with a large Red Maple tree in front of them.

Will stepped closer to the tree, calling out, “Maple! Ivy! It’s Will, I need your help right now, please.”

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then two female figures came into view. The first girl seemed to step out of the trunk of the Maple tree. She had short, crimson red hair, tanned skin, and was wearing a chiton that matched her hair and casual sandals. The other girl came up from some plants at the base of the tree, which upon closer inspection seemed to be poison ivy. Her hair was black and cut short, her green skin covered in vines that matched the plants she emerged from and eyes a similar shade. She was wearing a Camp Half-Blood shirt over what looked to be a chiton and sandals that were both similar to the other girl’s.

The red-haired dryad smiled at Will, “Son of Apollo, what can we do for you?”

Will nodded and shot the two ladies smiles, although he was glancing nervously behind them, “Cecil, this is Maple and Ivy,” he said, pointing to the red-haired lady, then the brunette. “Maple, Ivy, this is my friend Cecil. There are people chasing us, and I would really appreciate it if you could help us.”

Ivy narrowed her eyes at Cecil, studying him carefully for a few seconds before turning to Will, “We can help. You boys hide in Maple’s tree. I’ll deal with your pursuers.”

Maple nodded in agreement as Will grinned at them, before grabbing Cecil’s hand and dragging him to the tree. The two demigods climbed to one of the middle branches, carefully avoiding the poison ivy at the bottom of the tree. Where they were was high enough they were out of reach, but low enough that if they fell they probably wouldn’t die. When Cecil looked below, he realized that Maple and Ivy were gone.

Less than a minute after the two demigods made their way to their hiding place, the Ares kids burst into range. Cecil held his breath as the boys looked around for a few seconds, and felt relief wash over him as they began to walk away. Suddenly, Ron stopped, turning around as his gaze landed on the two demigods in the tree. Immediately, the group ran over to the tree and began to kick at the tree, trying to shake them down. Cecil suppressed a very unmanly shriek as he clutched the branch he was on for dear life. Will looked eerily calm, and in a few seconds Cecil realized why.

Maple came out from behind the tree, her warm brown eyes flashing red. “Now, now, I would really suggest that you boys find a different tree to bother.”

Ron just scowled, clearly unfazed. “Leave us alone before we torch your dumb tree down.”

Maple rolled her eyes as she stepped back. The boys glared at Will and Cecil in the tree before Ron kicked the tree once more. He saw Maple wince slightly, but she was smirking. Cecil was confused as to why, only to get his answer moments later.

A hand grabbed Ron’s leg and the son of Ares screamed. As he yanked his leg away, Ivy crawled out of the poison ivy plants at the base of the tree, her eyes completely blackened as she grinned menacingly at the other demigods.

“Hello, boys,” she said, before throwing her hands out in front of her. Poison ivy plants started growing right where the boys stood, as they all stepped back screaming. The plants didn’t follow them, but all of the kids began scratching all over, cursing like pirates. Ron locked eyes with Cecil, looking somewhere between pissed off and horrified, as the boys turned around and booked it back to camp.

As soon as the other demigods screams were out of range, Ivy turned her attention up to Will and Cecil. The son of Hermes was terrified that she would curse them with a similar fate, but then noticed her eyes were back to their original green shade.

“You guys can come down now. It’s safe,” she announced as Maple stepped next to her.

Cecil followed Will as they shimmied back down the tree. Will was glowing with pride and he smiled at the dryads. “Thank you guys! Y’all are the best.”

Maple returned a smile, “It’s no problem, son of Apollo. I think you and your friend should return back to Camp now. Speaking of which,” she said, turning her attention to Cecil, “You are really a friend of Will Solace?”

Cecil managed a nod, his brain still processing what just happened. Thankfully, Will spoke up for him, “Cecil punched one of the guys for me! That’s why his nose was broken!”

Ivy, who had been off to the side watching carefully, nodded in approval, “Nice job, kid,” she said to Cecil. The son of Hermes squeaked out a  _ thank you _ , trying to hide his fear of the dryad after watching her inflict so much chaos onto those Ares kids.

Will and the dryads exchanged a few more words before the two demigods took off back to Camp. Cecil was still confused and trying to understand the recent events as they walked away, so they were both quiet for a bit. 

Will broke the silence. “Thanks for what you did for me. No one usually sticks up for me except my siblings and the head counselors, but it’s kind of their job. Actually, Clarisse helps me out too, but that’s it.”

Cecil nodded carefully, “You’re welcome. I think I should be thanking you though. Those guys would have killed both of us if you didn’t get the dryads to help us,” he glanced at the son of Apollo, “Why did they help us? You guys seemed like… well, friends, but my siblings told me the dryads don’t like campers.”

Will smiled faintly, “The dryads are all really nice if you treat them with respect. Most campers don’t get that, except for the Demeter kids I guess. They don’t get along with Hermes kids often though, seeing as your siblings prank everyone in this camp, nature spirits included. And well, like I said, I don’t have many friends at Camp, so I’ve had to look for friends in unusual places.”

Cecil chewed his lip, “Cool, cool.” 

Another moment of silence passed before Cecil asked “What did those guys mean about you and their sister? The whole death thing?”

Will sighed, his gaze fixed on the ground. “I’m a healer. That’s the only thing I got from Apollo, apart from my looks I guess. But I can’t save everyone, and well, Ron’s sister died when they both came to camp. It was my fault, I mean I was in charge of them and, well…” his voice trailed off.

Cecil studied Will closely. “How old are you?” 

Will blinked, looking surprised by the question, “Turning 10 in December. Why?”

Cecil frowned, stopping in his tracks as he grabbed Will’s arm. “Dude! You can’t beat yourself up for what happened to Ron’s sister. I mean you’re my age, and you are already working as a freaking medic. You’re really talented, and you’ve got gifts that I would kill for honestly. But you can’t expect to save everyone, and while it’s horrible what happened, you’re too young to be forced to take the blame for this,” he ranted. “In fact, everyone at this stupid Camp is too young to be dying every other day, but that’s our parent’s faults for giving us giant neon signs over our heads that say  _ EAT ME _ .”

Will stared at Cecil, and the son of Hermes couldn’t really read his expression. Finally, after what felt like years of silence, Will spoke softly. “Do you really mean that?”

Cecil snorted, “Of course I do. And even if you don’t, as your friend I’ll keep working hard until you do.”

Will’s eyes lit up. “You mean we’re friends? I just told Maple and Ivy that so that they didn’t hurt you, but I don’t want to force you to be my friend-”

“We are bros for life, my good man. You’ve got some powerful allies here, and if I keep getting almost killed for defending your ass, I’d like to get in on those allies too,” he announced, before softening his tone, “But seriously, Will. My dad’s the god of trickery and liars. I’ve got a decent character judgement as a result, but even without it, I can tell you’re a good person. It would be an honor to get my ass kicked defending your name.”

At this point, Will was radiating heat and light, his freckles glowing slightly as they reached the edge of the woods. He turned to Cecil with a wide grin, when he caught sight of Cecil’s hand, still bruised from the punch he landed on Ron.

“As our first new friends activity, let’s get you to the infirmary and bandage that up. We can also see how Ivy’s poison is working on Ron and his crew,” ordered Will.

Cecil grinned, throwing an arm around the son of Apollo “Will Solace, I like the way you think. I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave me feedback/any prompt suggestions! Once again, I hoped you liked the story.
> 
> You can follow me on my tumblr @alltheglowingeyess for updates on multichapter fics/a compiled list of my one-shots/random Riordanverse shit, or to just say hi. :)


End file.
